Hyderabad: Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Friday, October 30, demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah apologise unconditionally to Telangana before his scheduled November 2 visit to Hyderabad, alleging that remarks by Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the state had hurt public sentiment. Addressing reporters at Gandhi Bhavan, he said Shah was welcome and that the state government would make all arrangements for the trip, despite objections from some traders.
He said Shah should apologise to the people of Telangana and to the martyrs who gave their lives for statehood, won after a long struggle. He alleged that Shah had criticised Telangana in Parliament repeatedly and that Modi too had spoken against the state, which he called an insult to its people. He questioned whether the Home Minister had the moral standing to tour the city without first saying sorry, and asked local BJP leaders to convey the message to him.
Drawing a contrast with the capital, he said Shah could move around Hyderabad freely, whereas restrictions on Opposition leaders in New Delhi were severe.
He also questioned the need for elaborate arrangements for a rally covering barely one kilometre, remarking that Hyderabad celebrates Diwali with as much enthusiasm as Delhi and that commercial hubs such as Moazzam Jahi Market were doing huge festive business.
Describing the visit as an exercise in protecting democracy, he said it showed the Congress had succeeded in raising national concerns about democratic institutions. He alleged that the BJP, having fallen short of its 400-seat target in the Lok Sabha polls, was now seeking political wins by other means.
The minister said he was writing a formal letter to Shah with the demand, with elected representatives across parties joining the effort. On Backward Classes, he asked the BJP to fulfil its promise of a national caste-based census, questioning why the Centre counts buffaloes and sheep while skipping marginalised communities, and stressed the need for accurate caste-wise population figures. He asked BJP leaders K Laxman, Bandi Sanjay and Eatala Rajender to state their position.
Prabhakar congratulated citizens on what he called the state government's success in protecting public land worth thousands of crores from illegal alienation. He said Congress leaders, including district and mandal presidents, market committee chairpersons and library chairpersons, had left for New Delhi for a protest led by Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, where slogans such as "Vote Chor" and "Gadde Chor" would be raised over alleged electoral irregularities.
(With inputs from media reports)